Ash retainer for cigars, cigarettes and the like



June 16, 1959 R. D. BECK ASH RETAINER EOE CIGARs, CIGAEETTES AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. ll, 1955 INVENTOR. FOWJZJEZZ ec nited States 'Patent ASH RETAINER FOR CIGARS, 'CIGARETTES THE LIKE Ronald D. Beck, Clawson, Mich.

Application August 11, 1955, Serial No. 527,810

1 Claim. (Cl. 131-174) This invention relates to retainers for the ashes of cigars, cigarettes and the like, and particularly to an ash retainer which is supported by a cigar or cigarette for collecting the ashes which fall therefrom.

Various attempts have been made in the past to produce a carrier for ashes supported on a cigar which collects the ashes from the end thereof as the cigar is smoked, but such devices were usually made of metal and became hot and diiiicult to handle and absorbed the heat from the lighted tobacco, causing it to prematurely extinguish.

The present invention pertains to an insulating woven fabric sleeve which is closed at one end and which has an adjustable spring ring on the other end which clamps upon the cigar and prevents the sleeve from falling therefrom. The Woven material prevents any of the ash from falling from the cigar while providing a free flow of air thereto. The sleeve is preferably made from a sleeve of Woven glass fiber material which is cut to length and closed at one end, preferably by gathering the material and tying a loop thereabout. The opposite end has a spring ring placed therein with the ends extending through a slot so that the material may be tucked thereover to be on the inside of the sleeve. The sleeve is placed upon the cigar after the cigar is lighted and the cigar is smoked in the normal manner without any danger ofthe ash falling from the cigar end, as eventually occurs.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide an insulating ash retainer having a closed outer end and securing means on the inner end by which a sleeve is retained on a cigar; to provide an ash retainer of woven material which has little resistance to the passage of air and which is closed at one end and provided with a clamping ring on the other end by which the sleeve is secured to a cigar and, in general, to provide a unitary retainer for cigar ash through which air freely passes and which has securing means by which the sleeve is retained on the cigar while the cigar is being smoked.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a cigar having an ash retainer thereon embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the cigar and ash retainer illustrated in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a view of the ash retainer illustrated in Fig. 1 when shaped within a mandrel during the manufacturing thereof.

The ash retainer of the present invention embodies a tubular sleeve having a closed end 11 and an expandable spring ring 12 at the forward end. The expandable spring ring 12 has the free ends thereof extending out of a single slot in said sleeve in opposite directions and `Patented June 16, 1959 tangentially to the expandable ring and terminating in nibs 13 which may be grasped by the fingers, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and moved toward each other, as shown in dot and dash line, to enlarge the ring so that the cigar may be inserted within the retainer or removed therefrom. The nibs 13, being spaced apart and lying substantially in the same plane, form a support for the forward end of the cigar, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3.

In constructing the ash retainer 10, a woven ber sleeve 14 has the end portion 15 pulled through the length of sleeve and secured by an element 16 which may be a wire ring, thread or the like which securely closes the end. The opposite end has the ring 12 placed therein, with the nibs 13 extending through a slot 17 in the material so that a length 18 thereof may be drawn around the ring and tucked into the inside of the sleeve 14. As illustrated in Fig. 4, a tubular mandrel 19 is inserted within the sleeve and the material is coated with a suitable resin material which will set under heat. After the resin material has been set, the mandrel 19 is removed and the ash retainer is then ready for use.

In using the ash retainer, the cigar is first lighted, the nibs 13 are then moved together, and the cigar is inserted within the retainer. Upon the release of the nibs, the retainer is secured to the cigar. The retainer is made of woven fibrous material which is insulating and of light weight so that the cigar may be smoked in a normal manner. Any ash which may break from the end of the cigar will be confined within the retainer and will not fall therefrom. While the ibers are closely woven so as to retain the ash, the air is drawn freely therethrough to keep the tobacco ignited, the tire being protected by the insulating material of the retainer. As the cigar is smoked, the ash retainer may be moved closer to the unlighted end, and after the cigar is completely smoked, the retainer may be removed from the remaining butt and the ashes may then be shaken from the ring end of the retainer.

What is claimed is:

An ash retainer for covering the lighted end of a cigar comprising a sleeve of woven brous insulating material closed at one end and having an open mouthpiece portion at the other end thereof, said open mouthpiece portion having an annular pocket formed therein, and a resilient wire clip having an expanding ring portion secured within said annular pocket and encircling said open portion, the free ends of said wire clip extending out of said pocket from a slot therein and forming separate legs extending in opposite directions and tangentially to said expandable ring portion at a common point of tangency adjacent said slot, each of said free ends terminating in a nib portion extending substantially perpendicular to said legs and away from said sleeve with the nibs lying in substantially the same plane whereby the nibs in conjunction with said closed end of said sleeve are adapted to support the cigar over which the sleeve is adapted to be disposed on a iiat surface.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 356,615 Burr Jan. 25, 1887 917,948 Ingraham Apr. 13, 1909 1,485,384 Galloway Mar. 4, 1924 1,593,677 Gurnee et al. iuly 27, 1926 1,727,763 Gevirman Sept. 10, 1929 2,113,734 Lykos et al Apr. 12, 1938 2,342,853 Furstenberg Feb. 29, 1944 2,471,116 Newberger May 24, 1949 2,772,680 Rehfeld Dec. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 963,722 France Ian. 12, 1950 

